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JOINT CIRCULAR No

JOINT CIRCULAR No.17/2000/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BTC OF JULY 5, 2000 GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NUMBER OF REGIMES FOR RESISTANCE WAR ACTIVISTS AND THEIR NATURAL CHILDREN WHO WERE INFECTED WITH CHEMICAL TOXINS USED BY THE US DURING THE VIETNAM WAR

In furtherance of the Prime Minister’s Decision No.26/2000/QD-TTg of February 23, 2000 on number of regimes for resistance war activists and their natural children who were infected with chemical toxins used by the US during the Vietnam war;

After obtaining comments of the Health Ministry in its Official Dispatch No.2355/YT-TCCB of April 13, 2000, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance hereby jointly guide the implementation thereof as follows:

I. SUBJECTS ELIGIBLE FOR ALLOWANCES

1. People who have directly borne the consequences of chemical toxins while they were engaged in work, combat or combat services in areas where chemical toxins were used by the US, including:

- Officers and men, career servicemen, military workers and employees of the Vietnam People’s Army;

- Officers, men, workers and employees of the People’s Police Force;

- Local policemen, militiamen, guerrillas and self-defense men;

- Officials, workers and employees of the Party and the State bodies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the revolutionary socio-political mass organizations;

- Officials of hamlets, villages, communes and wards in the system of the Party, administrations, fronts and revolutionary socio-political mass organizations;

- Mobilized youth volunteers defined in the Prime Minister’s Decision No.104/1999/QD-TTg of April 14, 1999;

- Front-line supply carriers.

The above-said subjects shall be collectively referred to as the resistance war activists.

2. People who have indirectly borne the consequences of chemical toxins:

Alive children of resistance war activists defined in Clause 1, Section I above.

II. CONDITIONS FOR ENJOYING ALLOWANCES

1. The resistance war activists defined at Point 1, Section I above must fully meet three following conditions:

- They were engaged in work, combat and/or combat services in areas where chemical toxins were used by the US (from the 17th parallel southward) during the anti-US war for national salvation from August 1961 to April 30, 1975;

- They have suffered from serious ailments due to their infection of chemical toxins, thus losing their working capacity, or have been diseased due to infection of chemical toxins, which have reduced their working capacity;

- They have not yet enjoyed allowances for diseased soldiers, war invalids, or entitlements like for war invalids.

2. Alive children of resistance war activists defined at Point 2 - Section I above, who are deformed, physically defective, incapable of working and taking care of themselves in daily life, or who are incapable of working but still capable of taking care of themselves in daily life activities.

Subjects defined at Points 1 and 2 above, who have suffered illnesses or deformities or physical defects on the list of illnesses and physical defects promulgated by the Ministry of Health.

III. ENTITLED ALLOWANCE REGIMES

Resistance war activists and their natural children who fully meet the conditions prescribed in Section II above shall be entitled to the following regimes:

1. Monthly allowances:

a/ For resistance war activists:

- The allowance level of 100,000 VND/person/month shall be given to those who have suffered serious ailments due to chemical toxin infection and lost their working capacity.

- The allowance level of 88,000 VND/person/month shall be given to those who have suffered illnesses due to chemical toxin infection, and the working capacity decrease.

b/ For natural children of resistance war activists:

- The allowance level of 84,000 VND/person/month shall be given to those who are seriously deformed or physically defective, incapable of working and taking care of themselves in daily life activities.

- The allowance level of 48,000 VND/person/month shall be given to those who are deformed or physically defective, incapable of working but still capable of taking care of themselves in daily life activities.

2. Medical insurance:

If eligible subjects have not yet enjoyed medical insurance, the units directly managing them shall buy medical insurance for them at a level representing 3% of the current minimum wage.

3. Resistance war activists, who are now old and weak, lonely, have no one to support, and resistance war activists’ children, who are orphaned and incapable of earning their livings, shall be considered for admission into the social relief establishments and entitled to the preferential regimes according to the State’s current regulations.

4. Resistance war activists who are trapped in hunger and poverty, suffer working capacity decrease, and their natural children who are deformed or physically defective but still capable of working, shall be given priority to borrow capital from the National Employment Fund and/or the Hunger Elimination and Poverty Alleviation Fund, for investment in their production and/or business activities, in order to improve their living conditions.

IV. PROCEDURES AND DOSSIERS

In order to be considered for chemical toxin infection allowances, the resistance war activists and their natural children defined in Section I shall make written declarations for allowance entitlement (according to the set form), enclosed with written certifications of ailments, deformities and/or physical defects due to chemical toxin infection, by rural/urban district medical centers or polyclinics of localities where they reside, then send them to the People’s Committees of communes, wards and district townships for certification, before sending them to the Bureaus of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs or the Bureaus of Organization and Labor of rural districts, urban districts and provincial capitals (hereafter collectively referred to as the Bureaus of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs) for synthesization and submission to the provincial/municipal Services of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs for consideration and approval.

Basing themselves on the dossiers submitted by the Bureaus of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the list of people infected with chemical toxins already surveyed under the Prime Minister’s Decision No.74/1998/QD-TTg, the Services of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the provincial/municipal Finance and Pricing Services in organizing the consideration, approval and drawing up of the list of people eligible for allowances, and submitting them to the provincial/municipal People’s Committees, which shall issue allowance decisions and notify them to the People’s Committees of rural districts, urban districts and provincial capitals for implementation.

Basing themselves on the allowance decisions of the provincial/municipal People’s Committees, the People’s Committees of the rural districts, urban districts and provincial capitals shall notify the subjects eligible for allowances and the People’s Committees of the communes and wards where such subjects reside thereof for implementation.

On the basis of the list of people eligible for chemical toxin infection allowances already approved by the provincial/municipal People’s Committees, the provincial/municipal Services of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall have to make synthesized lists of eligible subjects and funding sources and send them to the provincial/municipal Finance and Pricing Services to serve as basis for formulating estimates of annual allowances to be allocated from local budgets to the eligible subjects, and at the same time send one copy thereof to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Resistance war activists who were infected with chemical toxins, old, weak, lonely, and have no one to support; and natural children of resistance war activists who are deformed or physically defective due to chemical toxin infection and are orphaned, shall be admitted to the social relief establishments, after the directors of the provincial/municipal Services of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs consider, approve and settle the cases on the basis of the complete procedures mentioned above.

V. FUNDING SOURCES TO COVER ALLOWANCE REGIMES

1. Funding sources to pay the allowances and buy medical insurance for resistance war activists and their natural children who were infected with chemical toxins as defined in Section I of this Circular shall be ensured by the local budgets with social allowances sources annually allocated by the Government.

2. In 2000, since the allowance funding sources have not yet incorporated in the local budget estimates, the Ministry of Finance shall make the "targeted supplementary allocations" from the central budget, so that the localities have sources to pay allowances to eligible subjects. The basis for considering and allocating funding sources to the localities shall be the list of people suffering the consequences of chemical toxins, already synthesized by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs following the survey on "people suffering consequences of chemical toxins used by the US during the Vietnam war" under the Prime Minister’s Decision No.74/1998/QD-TTg of April 03, 1998 and the allowance levels provided for in the Prime Minister’s Decision No.26/2000/QD-TTg of February 23, 2000.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall synthesize lists of allowance beneficiaries and funding sources proposed by localities, then send the result thereof to the Finance Ministry for allocation of "targeted supplementary" funding sources to the provinces.

VI. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. In order to fully realize the content of the Prime Minister’s Decision No.26/2000/QD-TTg of February 23, 2000, the provincial/municipal Services of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall have to:

- Coordinate with the mass media agencies in their respective localities in propagating and popularizing the spirit and content of the Prime Minister’s Decision No.26/2000/QD-TTg of February 23, 2000 and this Joint Circular’s guidance to all levels, branches and local people.

- Coordinate with the provincial/municipal Health Services in guiding, monitoring and recording the development of diseases suffered by resistance war activists, the extents of their children’s deformity and physical defects due to chemical toxin infection (if any), under the Health Ministry’s guidance, together with the determination of working capacity of each person according to the already formulated list for implementation of the regime to the right subjects.

- Coordinate with the People’s Committees of rural districts, urban districts and provincial capitals in publicly posting up the lists of resistance war activists and their natural children who are eligible for allowances at such People’s Committees’ offices. If within 15 days after such lists are posted up, there is no complaint thereabout, the allowances shall be paid.

2. The Finance and Pricing Services of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall coordinate with the provincial/municipal Services of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in considering and approving subjects eligible for allowances, ensuring the funding sources for allowance payment, and guiding the management and settlement of such funding sources according to the State’s current regulations.

3. The provisions of this Circular shall apply as from January 1st, 2000.

Any problems arising in the course of implementation shall be promptly reported to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance for solution and settlement.

For the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs

Vice Minister
NGUYEN DINH LIEU

For the Finance Minister

Vice Minister
NGUYEN THI KIM NGAN